Ice dam risk in Fayetteville, AR
How often ice dams form in Fayetteville
0.9 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Fayetteville sees 0.9 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Fayetteville averages 7 inches of snow a year and about 5 days with snow on the ground. Too little lies on the roof for long. The conditions that make a dam need all three at once: snow, cold at the eave and heat above it.
What your attic does to that number in Fayetteville
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 0.8 | Very unlikely |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 0.9 | Very unlikely |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 1.1 | Low |
The attic matters less in Fayetteville than in colder towns: there are only 0.1 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
Do you need to do anything in Fayetteville?
- Nothing for ice dams. If you are buying here and an inspector mentions water at the eaves, ask what they saw: it is far more likely a gutter, flashing or drip-edge problem than ice.
Snowy places are not always the worst: why snowfall misleads.
Fayetteville winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| February | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| March | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
Fayetteville next to nearby towns
Fayetteville ranks 9 of 39 Arkansas cities here for ice-dam days, behind Springdale at 1.2 days.
- Farmington, AR 5 mi, 0.9 days
- Springdale, AR 8 mi, 1.2 days
- Lowell, AR 13 mi, 1.2 days
- Rogers, AR 17 mi, 1.2 days
- Bentonville, AR 20 mi, 1.2 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Fayetteville Drake Field, 4.2 miles from Fayetteville. A dam day is a day with snow on the roof and freezing at the eave while heat or sun melts the snow above it. This describes a normal winter, not this one.